Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Rongguo Mansion, Fengjie's Courtyard.

The autumn sun was shining brightly that day, illuminating the entire yard. The leaves of the sycamore tree in the yard had turned yellow and were falling off one by one.

Before noon, four or five exquisite side dishes were placed on the small table on the kang in the main room, and Wang Xifeng and Ping'er were sitting opposite each other having lunch.

While the two were eating, they were chatting about the daily circulation of money and the care of people and things in the mansion, when they suddenly heard footsteps in the corridor outside.

Wang Xifeng and Ping'er both recognized it as Jia Lian's voice. They saw the door curtain being lifted and Jia Lian came in with a depressed look on his face.

Ping'er took away her own bowl and chopsticks, and when she came back she added new dishes and more bowls and chopsticks for Jia Lian, then she left the room and let Wang Xifeng talk to Jia Lian.

Wang Xifeng waited for Jia Lian to sit down, then asked hurriedly, "We went to Hongping Street today. What do you think of the shop left by the eldest master now?"

Before Jia She died, Wang Xifeng already knew that he owned several fur shops outside, and even heard that their business was quite good.

Wang Xifeng was a person who cared about money. It was natural for her to be concerned about the shop left by the master.

However, on the day of Jia She's funeral, Mrs. Xing fell ill. Moreover, as her mother-in-law was there, Wang Xifeng was in charge of all the arrangements for Jia She's funeral, and she was busy every day.

Therefore, Wang Xifeng really couldn't spare the time to plan the fur shop, but even so, she still asked Wang'er to keep an eye on the shop.

Wang'er came back and said that the shop owner and the clerks were opening the shop and doing business as usual, and there was nothing unusual, as if they had no idea that the master had passed away.

Wang Xifeng felt a little surprised after hearing this, but she thought that since Jia She had opened a shop, he must have handed the business over to a shopkeeper. As a nobleman of Rong country, there was no reason for him to go to the shop every day.

Therefore, the shop owner and his clerks, who had not seen him for a few days, probably got used to it. Hongping Street was quite far from Ningrong Street, so it was reasonable that the people in the shop still did not know that Jia She had passed away.

After that, Wang Xifeng was busy with Jia She's funeral and could not spare the time, so she just asked Wang'er to go to the shop the next day to see what was going on. Wang'er reported that everything was normal, so she was relieved. The monk can run away but the temple cannot.

As soon as Jia She's funeral was over, Wang Xifeng did not say hello to Mrs. Xing, but asked Jia Lian to go to Hongchun's shop and get the shop first.

Although Jia Lian has Lady Xing as his biological mother, he did not care about this stepmother when Jia She was alive. Now that his father is dead, Lady Xing is not even a paper tiger in his eyes.

Since ancient times, it has been natural for the son to inherit the deceased father's property. Naturally, he would skip Madam Xing and run the Hongchun Fur Shop.

I thought that as his son, it would be easy for me to take over my father's shop, but the reality was completely the opposite.

Seeing that Wang Xifeng was asking anxiously, he said unhappily, "I thought this would be easy, but I didn't expect it to be such a big deal. Now we can't get the store!"

Wang Xifeng was shocked when she heard this and said, "How come you hit a snag? The master's shop is gone now, so it belongs to you, his son!"

Jia Lian said dejectedly: "That's right, but when I went to the shop today, the shopkeeper said that the shop had been transferred to him before the master was free.

They also produced official documents. I carefully looked at the style of the documents, as well as the official seal of the Zhen'an government office on them. They were not fake but genuine official documents. The shop was no longer named Jia.

I was wondering why there has been no activity in the shop since the master passed away. It seems that the shop has nothing to do with the master anymore."

Wang Xifeng was extremely depressed after hearing this. The cooked duck actually flew away. However, she was a smart person after all, and she found something wrong after thinking about it carefully.

"This is too strange. I remember that time when Brother Cong received an award from the Emperor, my second sister hosted a banquet in the East Palace to congratulate her and invited the old lady and us to come over.

The eldest master did not show up that day, but the eldest mistress said in person that the eldest master did not come because he had to meet a distinguished guest in the shop, which means that at that time, the shop still belonged to the eldest master.

It was only six or seven days later when the master got into trouble. In just a few days, the shop was sold to someone else, just before the master got into trouble. It was too much of a coincidence!"

Jia Lian said: "What you said does make sense. This is indeed a bit strange. I have been to that shop twice before, although I am not familiar with the people there.

But I could still see that the shopkeeper and the clerks had all been replaced by new faces. This would not have happened unless the master had sold the shop to someone else.

Moreover, the new shopkeeper's words were very arrogant, and he looked fearless, as if he had some background, and he didn't look like a good person."

Wang Xifeng raised her eyebrows and said sternly, "Humph, our Rongguo Jia family is a family of dukes, how could we be afraid of these common people?

The Second Master is the eldest son of the Rongguo Mansion, and is about to inherit the title. He cannot allow anyone to bring disgrace upon him and weaken the momentum of the occasion!

This was originally the master's property, and now it has been lost without any clear explanation. We can't do it without an explanation. We didn't steal or rob, but we can't be fooled like this. We must make it clear!
Otherwise, everyone out there will come to bully me, and I won’t be able to bear this shame!"

……

Wang Xifeng asked Ping'er to call Wang'er over and said, "Take the Second Master's note and the three-colored gifts and go to Zhen'an Mansion.

Find someone with connections to check the transfer documents of Hongchun furs and whether they are registered in the government office. Find out how much silver is involved, so that we don’t let those bastards blackmail our Jia family.”

Jia Lian frowned and said, "Why do you have to do this? I often go out and have seen a lot of these transfer and delivery documents. The things in the shopkeeper's hands must not be fake."

Wang Xifeng said: "Even if it is true, so what? The master is not a man well versed in business. Maybe he was deceived by others. It is hard to say.

I will always find a way to get the shop back, huh!"

Jia Lian said, "Forget it. I don't care about this matter anymore. Let you do whatever you want."

Wang Xifeng sneered, "Second Master only knows how to drink and watch opera every day, and doesn't care about anything else. He doesn't know that things at home are getting harder every year.

If we don’t find some opportunities for open source now, it will be too late in a few years.”

Jia Lian said: "The property left by our ancestors is enough for daily living. It is not as difficult as you say."

Wang Xifeng sighed, "Second Master is really incompetent and doesn't know how to plan. Now the court is implementing a new policy, and how much extra money has been paid for the summer and winter taxes? This year, a lot of people have been cut, and the deficit has just been plugged.

But now that the eldest master is gone, the funeral alone cost nearly ten thousand taels of silver, and the public treasury's cash flow will be tight by the beginning of next spring.

The second master was about to inherit the title. The title of Rong State was not like that of the East Palace. It was hereditary and one would not move away even for ten lifetimes.

The second master's title will be downgraded, and the property bestowed by the emperor will also be reduced. Starting next year, the mansion's income will be discounted again. It gives me a headache just thinking about it.

As for the East Palace, this time the Cong brothers made great contributions in Nanjing, and the emperor rewarded them with another 500-shi of property. Their lives are getting better and better.

Just wait and see, in a few years, the gap between the East and West will grow wider and wider."

Although Jia Lian is quite clever in socializing and handling affairs outside, he is a hedonistic dandy at heart and is far from being as shrewd and calculating as Wang Xifeng.

After hearing what Fengjie said, I was secretly frightened, but since it wasn't going to happen yet, I wasn't panicked.

In Jia Lian's opinion, no matter how poor his family became, the savings from several lifetimes would still be there, and he could still save a few dollars on drinking and watching operas.

Wang Xifeng asked again, "The eldest master's funeral is over, and the second master also went to the clan office to cancel his household registration early, but why is there still no news about the succession to the title? Isn't this a bit strange?"

Although Jia Lian was a lazy and dissolute man, he was still very concerned about inheriting his father's title. He said, "This matter has indeed been delayed too much. Yesterday, I wanted to invite Zheng Yushu, the official in charge of the clan affairs office, to have a drink for this matter.

I wanted to ask him about the succession to the title, but he had something urgent to do and declined, saying that he was busy with clan affairs recently and asked me to wait patiently... "

Wang Xifeng said: "We can't just sit there and wait for this matter. The only people in the family who hold official positions are the master and the Cong brothers. But I'm afraid your brother's ways are much wilder than the master's.

I'm going to visit my second sister in the East Mansion these two days to see if your brother has any ideas."

……

Ningrong Street, Earl's Mansion, Jia Cong Courtyard.

The study was quiet. Jia Cong was reading at his desk. Only Yinglian was by his side, copying calligraphy and occasionally serving him tea.

Since the Ministry of Rites announced the imperial decree, granting Jia Cong exemption from the imperial examination next spring, and he resigned from his official position during the period of mourning, he had plenty of time.

Reviewing his lessons in preparation for the spring examination became the focus of his current life.

Zhishao, Wu'er, Qingwen and others have all experienced Jia Cong's imperial examinations, and are also familiar with his study habits when taking the exams.

In addition to taking care of his daily life more meticulously, he also instructed the girls in the yard to make less noise when walking around and talking, so as not to disturb Jia Cong's concentration on reading.

Even when Daiyu and other sisters came to visit, they only chose to visit at noon and sunset every day, because these two times were Jia Cong's daily rest time.

Now, just like during the provincial examination period, he would go to Kuacang Mountain every few days to stay for a few days and listen to his teacher Liu Jing'an's instruction and answer his questions.

Although he was the top scorer in the provincial examination, according to the convention of the imperial examination, as long as he took the exam and did not make any major mistakes, he would be sure to pass the imperial examination.

However, the teachings he received from Liu Jing'an were just as he wrote in his article "The Lack of Morality among Scholars": Scholars use books and classics to seek official positions, become obsessed with fame and fortune, and abandon the teachings of sages.

Since his success in the imperial examinations was already a foregone conclusion and he had plenty of free time, Jia Cong became more relaxed and focused on his studies, and his results were better than before.

His original intention of studying the classics and articles also became more pure. He threw away the utilitarian baggage of studying, and with the constant guidance of Liu Jing'an, he made further progress in his contemporary writings and policy essays.

When Jia Zheng heard that he had not wasted a single moment of his time since his mourning period, but had been concentrating on studying at home in preparation for the spring imperial examination, he felt very impressed.

Although Jia Cong was already a sure-shot Jinshi, he was never lazy or slack off, and was not surprised by the honors and favors. He was diligent and hardworking, which was exactly the ideal scholar he had imagined.

Jia Zheng was so excited that his originally dead hope for Baoyu to study for the imperial examination came back to life, and he began to have a strong desire to urge Baoyu to study.

It's a pity that Baoyu's bottom was broken by his beating. He will probably have to stay in bed for the rest of the winter before Jia Zheng can satisfy his fantasy of reading. ...

Just after noon, Jia Cong put down his book and took Yinglian out of the study. Zhishao, Wu'er and others had prepared lunch, and six or seven people sat together.

It happened to be raining outside. It was already autumn now. The autumn rain made the night colder. The whole yard was filled with dripping rain, which brought a refreshing chill.

After lunch, when the maids had packed up, Jia Cong walked around the corridor in the courtyard to digest his food.

But I saw a figure swaying at the gate of the courtyard. In the silky rain, a slender and graceful figure came slowly with an oil-paper umbrella, followed by a maid wearing a green satin vest with ribs.

Jia Cong laughed and said, "Why did Second Sister come out on a rainy day?"

In the rain, Yingchun smiled, looking pretty and charming.

She wore a pink embroidered cross-collared long jacket, a white cross-collared middle shirt, and a white pleated skirt. Her figure was graceful and her steps were slow and elegant. The edges of her skirt were slightly wet from the rain.

When they reached the veranda, she put away the oil-paper umbrella in her hand, handed it to Xiu Ju behind her, and said with a smile, "This morning I took Bao Chai with me and asked the housekeeper to take us to see the new estate bestowed by the emperor.

Sister Baochai's family is a royal merchant family. She knows more about the outside world than I do, so I asked her to come up with some ideas.

The additional property bestowed by the emperor this time included several hundred acres of high-quality farmland in the eastern suburbs of the city, several prosperous shops in the city, and a small courtyard with three entrances in the west of the city, all of which were excellent properties.

We estimate that even if we don't run the house, we can rent it out and get four to five thousand taels of rent a year. This is still an underestimate. In addition, with Brother Cong's property in Liaodong, the money will never be exhausted."

Jia Cong made great contributions in Jinling this time, and Emperor Jia Zhao bestowed him with an additional 500-stone title and property. But then it happened that Jia She died, so he had no time to pay attention to it.

The amount of gold and silver earned by Jia Cong's Xinchunhao every year far exceeded the income from the earl's mansion.

In addition, all the earl's property was used for the daily expenses of the Earl's Mansion, so he became a hands-off manager and left everything to Yingchun to manage.

Ever since Yingchun became Jia Cong's wife, she has become more reserved and meticulous, and has more patience than ordinary people. Although she is not sharp and quick in handling household and business matters, she is patient and always gets everything done properly.

Especially, these titles and properties in the mansion were all earned by her younger brother Cong through fighting and making a living outside. Yingchun cherished them even more and thought that they must be handled properly so as not to waste her brother's hard work.

That's why she asked Baochai, the sister who understood the world and economics best, to go with her to inspect and make plans.

When Jia Cong heard Yingchun say that the newly awarded 500-shi title property could produce an income of 5,000 taels a year, he was a little surprised.

Because his one thousand shi of property in Liaodong were all the best farms and fertile lands in Liaodong, the annual harvest was only five thousand taels, plus necessary losses, the final result was less than five thousand taels.

The additional 500-shi rank property granted by Emperor Jiazhao this time was all inside and outside the city of Shenjing. Although the amount was only half, its value exceeded the 1,000-shi rank property in Liaodong.

Jia Cong said: "Second sister can handle these things. You can ask Sister Feng to take a look at the prosperous shops in the city. If they can be used in the new shop of Xinchunhao, then use them. If not, rent them out.

This way, Second Sister can worry less and just sit at home and collect money."

The two siblings chatted for a while, and Yingchun said, "My second sister-in-law suddenly came to visit me yesterday and mentioned that my second brother Lian would be given the title. So far, there has been no news from the clan affairs office.

I noticed that my second sister-in-law looked a little anxious, and I also understood what she meant. She knew that Brother Cong had many connections in the government, and she was a little hesitant and couldn't tell you, so she wanted me to pass on the message."

After hearing what Yingchun said, Jia Cong's expression froze slightly. There was the controversy over the arranged marriage some time ago, and then Jia She's death. The arranged marriage was overturned, and the two governments held a grand funeral. All kinds of affairs came flooding in.

Jia Cong was really overwhelmed and had no time to pay attention to unimportant things.

For Lady Jia and the entire Rongguo Mansion, the inheritance of Jia She's title is the most important thing.

But to Jia Cong it was the most unimportant thing, so he subconsciously ignored it and was too lazy to pay attention to such trivial matters.

When he had made military achievements in Liaodong, Emperor Jiazhao instructed the clan court to stage a trick to change the crown prince, although Jia Cong had never been interested in the title of Rongguo Mansion.

At that time, he was far away in Liaodong. Although he did not see Lady Jia's reaction with his own eyes, he could imagine that in Lady Jia's mind, he was probably a person with ulterior motives.

His guess was not without basis. If this was not the case, why would Daiyu and Tanchun travel thousands of miles to write him a letter with such earnest words, persuading him to give up the position of crown prince?

He could imagine how much of a turmoil the emperor's proposal to change the crown prince had caused in the Jia family, and how intensely Grandmother Jia's disgust and rejection of him must have been.

Therefore, Jia Cong was somewhat disdainful of the title of Rongguo Mansion, which had lost its foundation long ago but was regarded as a treasure by the old lady.

……

At this moment, after hearing Yingchun's words, he understood why Wang Xifeng did not say it directly, but let Yingchun convey her meaning.

A shrewd person like Wang Xifeng must have felt that the entire Jia family was opposed to her decision to change the crown prince, and she must have been dissatisfied in her heart, so no one dared to challenge her.

But since Yingchun brought up the matter, Jia Cong had to say it, after all, Yingchun and Jia Lian were siblings from the same father.

He said: "It is understandable that the second sister-in-law has such concerns. The eldest master's funeral has been over forty-nine days. According to common sense, the clan government should have issued an edict to let the second brother Lian inherit the title.

There has been no movement for such a long time, and it is hard to say what has happened, but I have never had any dealings with the clan affairs office, so I can't think of any specific reason.

Moreover, the succession of the title, in the final analysis, must be approved by the emperor, and the clan government will issue an edict to follow it. Now that the clan government has not made any move, it is probably because the palace has not had time to approve it yet. "

At this time, Jia Cong thought that Emperor Jia Zhao knew that Jia She was involved in the theft of muskets, but because he needed to grant the marriage, he kept Jia She's crime secret.

However, given Emperor Jia Zhao's temperament, he would never let the matter go. He would most likely have people continue to investigate the matter. Under such circumstances, how could he allow Jia She's title to be passed on smoothly?

If my estimation is correct, Jia Lian will probably encounter many twists and turns if he wants to inherit the title.

However, his inferences were extremely taboo, and he was not in a position to explain them to Yingchun.

……

Rongguo Mansion, Lixiangyuan.

When Baochai and Yingchun came back from outside the city, they did not enter the East Palace, but went directly back to Lixiangyuan.

Aunt Xue asked her daughter when she saw her daughter coming back, "The second young lady from the East Mansion came to call you so early in the morning. What are you doing?"

Baochai replied, "Brother Cong has been granted a number of titles and properties by the Emperor, and my second sister is now in charge of the household and is planning to allocate these newly acquired properties.

He knew that our family had many businesses, so he took me out of the house to inspect the newly granted shops and lands and asked me to help him come up with some ideas.

Aunt Xue married into a royal merchant family and had been influenced by it for half her life. She had always been concerned about these financial matters, and her eyes lit up when she heard her daughter's words.

Said: "I only know that this time Cong Ge'er has made another contribution, and the emperor has rewarded him with some property, but I didn't know that these things are all in the territory of Shenjing, which is very valuable."

Baochai smiled and said, "Mom, whether the scattered things are valuable or not is secondary. The most important thing is that His Majesty is so kind to Brother Cong. It shows that His Majesty thinks highly of him."

Aunt Xue frowned slightly when she saw the joy on her daughter's face.

Suddenly Xue Pan came in after lifting the door curtain, and said with a smile: "Sister is now capable and Miss Yingchun thinks highly of her. This is a great thing."

Aunt Xue saw Xue Pan's face flushed and his breath smelled of alcohol. She frowned and scolded him, "You went there to hang out again, drank a lot of dirty water, and made the whole room smell of alcohol."

Aunt Xue cursed as she said to her maid Tongxi, "Go get the young master a cup of hangover soup. Hurry up and make it hot."

He turned around and asked Xue Pan, "Why is it that being favored by the second lady is a good thing? What's your logic?"

Xue Pan smiled and said, "Mom, how could you not know that Miss Yingchun is different now than before, but she is the eldest daughter of the East Palace, and she is now the head of the Earl's Mansion.

Now everyone in the two mansions knows that Jia Cong listens to his sister and does whatever she says. It's a good thing that Miss Yingchun thinks highly of my sister. "

When Baochai saw that her brother was speaking ambiguously and making eye contact with her, she had no idea what he meant. Her pretty face turned red and she stood up to go into the inner room.

Xue Pan hurriedly called out, "Sister, please don't leave. We are all family. There are things that cannot be said or heard. I promise you that you will love to hear the good things I say today."

Baochai blushed even more and said, "I don't want to hear any good words you have to say."

As he said this, he lifted the door curtain and went into the inner room. In fact, Baochai wanted to hear what her brother had to say, and might even like to hear it, but she was just too embarrassed to stay there.

Aunt Xue didn't care that Baochai left, and just said to Xue Pan: "I know what you mean, but it's useless to think about it. It's all nonsense."

Xue Pan shouted, "Mom, what you said is wrong. Is it possible that our sister is not worthy of Jia Cong?"

After hearing these words, Baochai's heart started beating fast behind the door curtain. She didn't know what nice words her brother would say next...

Aunt Xue frowned and fanned Xue Pan's drunken breath, saying, "This kind of thing is not just about looks. For a man like Cong, even a marriage must be granted by the palace. We can't rely on this foundation of our family."

Xue Pan said with great concern: "Mom, you don't know, I have made some friends recently, and I have learned a lot from drinking and chatting with some nobles.

You know that in this world, you need to be flexible in order to achieve success. Mom, don't always think in the same old way. If my sister is against the Cong brothers, she doesn't necessarily have to be the principal wife because of the family background."

When Baochai heard this behind the door curtain, she was also stunned. She could not imagine her brother saying such a thing.

Aunt Xue was so angry that her face turned red: "You bastard, I don't know what kind of bastards you made friends with outside, and after drinking a few cups of yellow wine, you let your sister be someone's mistress. I will beat you to death!" (End of this chapter)